Guardsmen pitch in to save 77-year-old golf tournament

Glenn Dickey, Chronicle Staff Writer

Published 4:00 am, Saturday, July 2, 2005

The Guardsmen, a nonprofit organization that benefits Bay Area youth, have agreed to sponsor and raise the necessary money so the San Francisco Junior golf tournament can be held at Lincoln Park, July 19-21.

The tournament, which will be in its 77th year, has a great tradition and a list of champions that includes Bob Rosburg and Johnny Miller. In April, however, it was threatened by budget cuts when the Recreation and Parks department announced that tournament entrants would have to pay the customary $37 greens fee for San Francisco public golf courses.

Previously, the tournament had been free to all entrants, but with the city $100 million in debt, the Rec and Parks department decided it no longer could afford to subsidize the tournament.

A proposal to charge entrants the normal $10 fee for junior golfers was rejected, and Jackie Fong, Rec and Park's director of property management, said the only way the tournament could continue would be with private sponsorship.

The San Francisco Golf Championships in March were nearly canceled, until American Express agreed to pay the costs of the tournament.

This time, it was the Guardsmen who came forward with a pledge so the junior tournament could be held.

The tournament has run continuously since its inception, except for the World War II years of 1943-44.

Wells Fargo and the San Francisco office of the Staubach real estate brokerage firm will be the corporate sponsors for the event, which has also received donations from individuals, private family foundations, the NCGA foundation and several local corporations.

The long-term goal of The Guardsmen, said Stephen Molinelli, speaking for the organization, would be to raise money and encourage local government support so the tournament can last well into the future.

The Guardsmen also present the annual fund-raising golf tournament for The First Tee of San Francisco, which raises about half the money needed for the program at Harding Park.

Fred Nelson, a senior member of The Guardsmen and general counsel for the United States Golf Association, has been working to help the junior tournament get nonprofit status, so contributions can be tax deductible.